PRESIDENT Benigno S. C. Aquino III signed the P3.002-trillion national budget for 2016 on Tuesday, a spending program intended to bring the economy to growth levels of up to 8%, powered by infrastructure.
Dec 222015
Dec 222015
ONLINE job hiring in the Philippines dropped by 46% in November, marking a third straight month of decline to the indicator’s lowest level so far this year.
Dec 222015
The camp of Sen. Grace Poe has hinted someone is behind the several attempts designed to have her disqualified from the presidential race. There are two who stand to benefit from Poe’s disqualification, Liberal Party standard bearer and Mar Roxas and Vice President Jejomar Binay, although of course the picture changes with the entry of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in the race. One newspaper columnist cited some political analysts as saying the group of Binay may be behind all of this as evidenced by the following: First, it was United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) president Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco who made the opening salvo when he questioned the citizenship of Poe during a press conference. And then right after, a disqualification case based on citizenship questions was filed with the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) by lawyer Rizalito David, the former chief of staff of then Sen. Francisco Tatad, against Poe. Tatad is known to be an ardent supporter of Binay. (David has also filed a disqualification case against Duterte with the Comelec last Dec. 21, opposing the Davao mayor’s substitution for PDP-Laban former standard bearer Martin Diño and branding this as null and void) Second, David’s lawyer, Manuelito Luna, also represented Tatad in another case, this time filed with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), to disqualify Poe from the presidential race. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Third, former UE Law Dean Amado Valdez filed a disqualification case with the Comelec against Poe’s bid for the presidency. Read More …
Dec 222015
Napocor is expected to distribute 62 more gensets in various SPUG power plants in the country. Currently, it services around 800,000 households through its 290 spug plants. Philstar.com/File MANILA, Philippines – The National Power Corp. (Napocor) has increased the operating hours of its Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) plant in San Pascual, Masbate after it delivered last Dec. 11 an additional 300-kW generating set. “With this improvement we can now extend the service hours of the Burias Island Diesel Power Plant (DPP) from eight hours to 12 hours, benefiting at least 1,857 households. In 2016, the power plant may further extend to 16 hours of operating hours,” Napocor said. Napocor president Ma. Gladys Cruz-Sta. Rita personally led the switching on of the genset and shared among the residents there Napocor’s intensified programs in electrifying the farthest island in the country. With the new genset, power services in the said municipality can now be enjoyed from 8 am in the morning until 12 midnight, enabling students to use computer in schools. It will also promote tourism and will help boost the local economy as the people in the island are now more optimistic with longer power hours. Sta. Rita, has likewise committed to electrify nine more barangays in the town. Napocor is expected to distribute 62 more gensets in various SPUG power plants in the country. Currently, it services around 800,000 households through its 290 spug plants.
Dec 222015
In a statement yesterday, the Department of Finance said the general government debt accounted for 36.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as of September. Philstar.com/File MANILA, Philippines – The broadest measure of the government’s debt standing inched up in the third quarter from the previous three months, but remained down from last year. In a statement yesterday, the Department of Finance said the general government debt accounted for 36.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as of September. The figure was up slightly from 36.2 percent as of end-June, but was still an improvement from 37.2 percent in the same period a year ago. General government debt is a wide measure of debt levels across the bureaucracy, including that of the National Government, local governments, and social security institutions such as the Social Security System and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. A lower ratio indicates the government is generating more resources than debts, giving it more payment capacity. GDP is the sum of all goods and services gauging economic output. Based on DOF figures, the decrease in the ratio could be traced from faster economic growth than debt accumulation in the first nine months. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In absolute amounts, general government debt rose 5.1 percent to P4.8 trillion from P4.6 trillion last year. GDP grew a faster 5.8 percent during the period. “Keeping this ratio down is part and parcel of our commitment to keeping the Philippines resilient. We can expect the downtrend Read More …
Dec 212015
A STUDY of consumer attitudes and priorities identified the Mercury Drug store network as the most accessible among leading retail chains, followed by Puregold Price Club, Inc. and the various retail operations of the SM Group.
Dec 212015
THE GOVERNMENT’S debt securities outstanding hit P3.895 trillion at end-November, marginally lower than the month prior, as the Treasury failed to award — as planned — securities on offer with the widely anticipated US lift-off pushing rates higher across the board during the period.
Dec 212015
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation promotes free and open trade and investment thereby increasing competition throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This makes it an opportune time to offer an attractive business environment to foreign investors. One of the tools for attracting foreign investment is fiscal incentives. Currently, several investment promotion agencies (IPAs) such as the Board of Investments, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and others grant tax holidays, investment allowances, accelerated depreciation, reduced corporate income tax rates, and exemptions from indirect taxes, to eligible investors.
Dec 202015
THE PROCESS of amending the Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT) Law is expected to go smoothly in the Senate, with only one lawmaker expected to raise issues on the recently proclaimed priority measure once the sessions resume in January.
Dec 202015
CONTINUED improvements to the local business environment, as well as increased skills training for students, is expected to help drive a sustained decline in unemployment, Department of Finance (DoF) said.